Video game development studio Striking Distance Studio, a subsidiary of Korean publisher Crafton Inc., is hiring a new management team several months after the commercial failure of its first game. Executive Director Glenn Schofield Leaving his position, a representative for Crafton confirmed Wednesday that he has “decided to pursue new opportunities.” Striking Distance’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer are also leaving the company. Crafton claimed that all three departures were voluntary.
Chief Development Officer Steve Papotis will assume the role of CEO. It is a statement, Scofield He said his departure was “bittersweet, but I know the studio is in great hands.” Scofield founded the studio in 2019 to create a spiritual successor dead spaceWhile working on the sci-fi horror series he co-created Electronic Arts Inc. In December 2022, the company was launched Callisto protocol with moderate reviews. In January, analysts said the horror game was on track to sell 2 million copies, missing Crafton’s 5 million target. In recent months, Striking Distance has laid off more than 30 employees. The company’s website now shows about 90 employees.
The restructuring at California-based video game developer San Ramon reflects the turbulent nature of the video game industry. Big-budget games take years to develop and can cost millions of dollars, meaning a single failure can severely damage a game company’s prospects.
New franchises are rare in the industry, where most big-budget games rely on established intellectual properties to minimize risk. Callisto protocol It was plagued by crashes and performance issues, which hurt its chances of success in a competitive market. A month after its launch, Electronic Arts throw a Remake of dead space which was praised by critics.
A representative for Crafton said that “the studio’s plans are not affected.”
Through: Bloomberg
Editor’s note: The case is very mysterious, don’t you think? My bet is “they were” because they must have had high expectations while counting on his experience, perhaps even he thought things were going to be very different in this study.